I think I’ve confessed my fondness for mulies in this space before. I have hunted them several times with my bow, and once with a muzzleloader. I was able to take a nice Montana buck with the smokepole, but the archery mulie has somehow eluded me. Someday, I hope, the cosmic tumblers will click and I’ll be able to kneel by a gorgeous bow-killed mule deer. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the anticipation and dreaming.

The buck needn’t even be as big as the giant pictured above. That deer, killed by a hunter who shall remain as anonymous as the location of this photo, was shot at a distance well under 10 yards. After an arduous stalk that required not only fooling this giant, but an equally-impressive companion. All this occurred in what I’ve come to view as classic habitat for big mountain mulies; little cover to hide predators and high-altitude enough that casual hunters don’t even think to look for deer there. I can’t imagine a more challenging hunt and satisfying harvest.

So how ‘bout you? When you conjure up the “buck of your dreams” what does he look like? A clean, towering typical? A massive, gnarly non-typ? A mule deer or a whitetail? Share your visions!